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No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle
No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle (ノーモア★ヒーローズ2デスパレート ストラグル Nō Moa Hīrōzu Tsū Desuparēto Sutoraguru) is an action video game currently in development for the Wii console. It is the second game in the No More Heroes video game series, directed by Goichi Suda, developed by Grasshopper Manufacture, published by Ubisoft and Rising Star Games, and has a tentative release date of January 2010 in North America, and the first quarter of 2010 in Europe. A Japanese release date has yet to be determined. While an initial press release by Marvelous Interactive, who were responsible for publishing No More Heroes in Japan, stated that they would be publishing Desperate Struggle in North America as a joint effort with XSEED Games, it has since been confirmed that Ubisoft, who published the first installment in North America, would again be helming the game in this region. Ubisoft officially unveiled Desperate Struggle at the Penny Arcade Expo on September 4, 2009, where it was playable for the first time to both reporters and the public.No More Heroes 2 Playable At PAX 09. Stephen Totilo. Kotaku. August 28, 2009. Though executive producer Goichi Suda has remained fairly quiet about the game's premise, when questioned by Eurogamer on what feeling Suda wished to convey to players through the game, he responded with, "One of the feelings you may be experiencing is the true meaning of fighting," likely a result of the game's principal theme of revenge. Suda has expressed that if the No More Heroes franchise continues to grow, that Desperate Struggle will likely be the last installment published for the Wii. "To expand NMH to new possibilities, we need a new platform. Wii is a great platform, but we've done everything we can with it now," explains Suda. It is uncertain if he feels Desperate Struggle will be the last No More Heroes title for the Wii because he wants to take the franchise to consoles by other parties, of if he is referring to the likelihood that by the time a third potential installment were completed, Nintendo will have released the Wii's successor console. Plot Three years have passed since Travis Touchdown became the top assassin in the United Assassins Association. Desperate Struggle finds Touchdown withdrawn from the ranks of the UAA, and fallen to 51st in rank. Santa Destroy, which was renowned in No More Heroes for its underachievement, has been bought and renovated into a metropolis by the Pizza Butt corporation, who made their debut in the first installment when they were looking to open restaurants in the town. Igniting the game's plot, Touchdown receives a package informing him that his best friend, Bishop Shidux, has died. Suda explains to Nintendo Power, "In the first game, Travis's primary reason for fighting was to hook up with Sylvia. His motivation was kind of silly. In No More Heroes 2, it's very personal. His friend was killed, and now Travis is out for revenge. He's taking this much more seriously." Indeed Touchdown's personal vendetta will likely result in a much darker plot than the first game, in which Touchdown's key motivation to battle ranked assassins and their thugs was largely his desire for a sexual encounter with Silvia Christel. "I think it's time for No More Heroes to become serious," he says. "But it's going to have humour, don't worry. It won't be too serious," said Suda in an October interview with Eurogamer. The second trailer evidences an example of this humorous side, when Christel kneels to kiss the receiver of Touchdown's beam katana only inches from his crotch, and his excitement causes him to activate the weapon. Though it is implied in the "real" ending of No More Heroes that Touchdown and his brother Henry honorably kill each other, this appears not to be the case as Touchdown will clearly star in Desperate Struggle. While this could indicate that Henry met an ill fate during the cliffhanging clash at the end of the first game, the result of the brothers' conflict is expected to be explained at some point during Desperate Struggle. Development Early announcements Plans for a No More Heroes sequel were first revealed shortly after the release of the first game, in a March 15, 2008 interview with Computer and Video Games, where Suda revealed he would be interested in producing a No More Heroes sequel for the Wii, on the condition that the game sold well enough to convince its publishers. With No More Heroes' positive reception in North America, and Martin Defries, manager of Rising Star Games who were responsible for publishing No More Heroes in Europe, raving about the sales of the game, not only was it unlikely that Suda's intention to direct a follow-up would go unsupported, but this meant it was likely that the sequel would not be published exclusively in Japan. Releases of Desperate Struggle in North America and Europe have since been confirmed. Suda explained in an interview with Eurogamer on October 9, 2008, "When we worked on the first No More Heroes, we were really confident that this one was going to be a huge success. When we were talking at that time we said okay, if it really becomes a success, we should definitely make a sequel. The sales in US and Europe were pretty good so we said okay, we have to make it." He has also confessed, "[No More Heroes] is the very first time that I really wanted to make a sequel, out of all the titles I've made so far." Trailers Desperate Struggle was announced on October 8, 2008, when a teaser trailer for the game was shown at the Tokyo Game Show in Chiba, Japan. This trailer provided little insight to the premise of the game, other than that the player would once again take control of Touchdown, the protagonist from the first game. Following No More Heroes' suit of pitting Touchdown against unique adversaries, the trailer sees him preparing to battle a woman fitted with a six-limbed jet pack. Also, similar to the first game's numerous references to popular culture, in the trailer Touchdown says the Terminator film series' catch phrase "I'll be back!" before initiating a sequence with music similar to that of the Terminator series' scores. The clip also hinted that Touchdown's attire may be modified for Desperate Struggle, as instead of his signature Red Hot jacket and Bizarre Jelly T-shirt, Travis wears a black jacket with ragged pants and a simple T-shirt reading "Travis Strikes Again." However further coverage on the game shows that the red hot jacket will in fact make a return in Desperate Struggle, in addition to a new Pure White Lover Bizarre Jelly T-shirt. The second trailer for Desperate Struggle confirmed several details, among them the reappearance of Silvia Christel, the introduction of dual-wielded beam katanas, and two new characters, Nathan Copeland and Kimmy. On September 3, 2009, a third trailer for the game was released, where Suda, with his lines dubbed by a baritone voice, described some new features, and others which were refined from the previous installment.No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle Nintendo Wii Trailer - Trailer. IGN. September 3, 2009. This trailer also shows how Job Center missions have been revamped into low-bit minigames (which include coconut collecting, a Mach Rider-like Schpeltiger race and fry cooking). Shortly after releasing this trailer, IGN also added renders of Christel and Copeland, as well as a PR illustration of who appears to be Helter-Skelter, to its image database, and uploaded two videos featuring gameplay from Ranking Battle 50.No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle Nintendo Wii Gameplay - Demo 1. IGN. September 3, 2009.No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle Nintendo Wii Gameplay - Demo 2. IGN. September 3, 2009. Engine and gameplay improvements Desperate Struggle is being developed by the same production staff responsible for designing the first game. Suda has promised improvements to the game's engine as well as its graphics, resulting in "a far busier Santa Destroy." This may assure the senses of those who, like reviewers at GameSpot, felt the Santa Destroy of No More Heroes "should be taken has a hub rather than a city and something that should have been worked on a lot more." In an interview with IGN, Suda has advised fans to "expect some really cool new wrestling moves," and hinted at the ability to use the environment to the player's combat advantage. Suda has also expressed interest in integrating the Wii MotionPlus peripheral and even including a multiplayer mode. 1UP has since confirmed MotionPlus will not be implemented,Two new playable characters, the final word on MotionPlus, Classic Controller support, obscure trivia, and exclusive new screenshots. Matt Leone. 1UP.com. September 17, 2009. and while the status of multiplayer functionality is uncertain, time constraints make the possibility unlikely. After observing the popularity of Monster Hunter Tri and its Classic Controller support, Grasshopper resolved to implement support for the Classic Controller in Desperate Struggle as well. The game's mission and assassination gig side jobs are slated to be far more varied and will reportedly be connected to the main plot. Nintendo Power details how to reflect the game's more serious plot, the graphics of Desperate Struggle have been boosted from the cartoonish quality of the first installment. The pixelated elements from the first game will return in Desperate Struggle however, and with greater emphasis. The physics and enemy AI will also be improved to create greater variety in combat, and a "Mark II" version of Touchdown's motorbike, the Schpeltiger, will be featured, along with a driving overhaul. The number of Ranking Battles will also increase, and while there are a planned 50 ranked assassins, some will challenge Touchdown immediately one after another, meaning the total Ranking Battles in the game will not be 50. Furthermore, the stipulation fees for entering Ranking Battles will also be reduced, so the process of earning money will not be "as much of a pain as it was in the first game," as Suda confesses. An article featured in the August 2009 issue of Edge reveals several more details about Desperate Struggle. Here, Suda expands on the second Schpeltiger model, Job Center missions (one of which will involve plumbing), the upgraded Santa Destroy, Extreme Murder Battle Stages (which will include a new school, construction yard and cemetery). Suda explains that the development team considered giving Touchdown the ability to wield other weapons such as firearms, however this idea was abandoned, as Suda felt it would compromise Touchdown's status as a "modern samurai." While Suda has reported to IGN that Touchdown is expected to obtain up to four beam katanas in Desperate Struggle as he did in the first installment,[http://wii.ign.com/articles/102/1021425p1.html Killing them Dead in No More Heroes 2]. Matt Casamassina. IGN. September 3, 2009. there are at least five total beam katanas known to be available to him in Desperate Struggle, two of which are actually dual-wielded. The remaining three include a model which is possibly the Blood Berry of the first installment, the returning Tsubaki Mk-III and an exceedingly long beam katana comparable to a lance. Alternate European version Desperate Struggle is planned for release in Europe in both "extreme" and mild formats, to appeal to European fans who were disappointed by the bloodless version of No More Heroes that was published in their region. On the topic of these different formats, Suda has explained: Characters Apart from Touchdown returning as protagonist, the first new No More Heroes character to be revealed was a woman fitted with a six-limbed jet pack, who appears in the game's teaser trailer. In the three years between No More Heroes and Desperate Struggle, Shinobu, the only UAA-ranked assassin Touchdown faced who wasn't killed, has become the most prestigious assassin in Asia. She has also allegedly become Touchdown's apprentice, referring to him as "Master," and it has been implied that she has affectionate feelings for him.Two new playable characters, the final word on MotionPlus, Classic Controller support, obscure trivia, and exclusive new screenshots. Matt Leone. 1UP.com. September 17, 2009. In Desperate Struggle Shinobu will appear as a playable character who handles differently than Touchdown, being able to jump. Shinobu will be playable in two stages of the game, where she will face a new character, Million Gunman, and the returning assassin Destroyman, who after being killed by Touchdown in No More Heroes has since been converted into a cyborg and dubbed "New Destroyman". An article featured in the August 2009 issue of Edge revealed Henry will return in Desperate Struggle, where he too will be playable. One of his special skills will include the ability to dash (although this skill is less than unique, as Touchdown could also be capable of this after learning the Technique of Bizarre in No More Heroes). As with Shinobu, the player will not be able to choose to play as Henry at will. The treatment of these characters only be playable in certain areas of the story is similar to the alternative playable characters of Suda's earlier production, Flower, Sun, and Rain. The second Desperate Struggle trailer marked the first appearances two new characters. The first, Nathan Copeland, is a hip-hop enthusiast who Famitsu reveals is ranked 50th in the UAA, and is the first assassin Touchdown faces on his climb back to the top. Touchdown challenges Copeland to a Ranking Battle in an expensive suite which appears to be Copeland's home, and in battle Copeland uses a boombox which transforms into armor covering his arms. This armor can be extended to give Copeland's physical attacks an enormous range advantage. The second character, Kimmy, is a girl dressed in a school uniform in the trailer, who Touchdown confronts under a tree. Kimmy plays a flute which also doubles as a dual-bladed beam katana. She is also interested in Touchdown, as evidenced by her fancying him "Travis the Great" and her proposition that "If you get me pregnant, promise not to ditch me, okay?" One screenshot published by Famitsu also depicts the same sunset scene as in the trailer, but with Touchdown and Kimmy sitting in the grass with their backs against each other. Official websites On August 18, 2009, the game's North American publisher Ubisoft began sponsoring a contest where American fans could submit one T-shirt design to be used in the game, similar to a contest Weekly Famitsu held for the first installment, before the deadline of September 10, 2009 at 11:59 PM PST.No More Heroes 2 Contest. Ubisoft. August 18, 2009. Also in August 2009, the game's official Japanese website was opened, featuring a blog widget and the same T-shirt contest Ubisoft had been holding, but sponsored by Marvelous Entertainment for Japan residents. The contest for this region has since ended, however. On September 17, 2009, 1UP.com began dedicating a five-day cover story to Desperate Struggle, culminating in the game's appearance at the 2009 Tokyo Game Show on September 24.No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle Five Day Exclusive Matt Leone. 1UP.com. September 17, 2009. The first report revealed such things as the name of a new assassin called Million Gunman, clarified the status of Wii MotionPlus, announced the game will support Classic Controllers and showcased the first screenshot of Henry as he appears in the game. Staff Production staff * Toshihiro Fujikawa – director * Goichi Suda – writer, executive director * Yūsuke Kozaki – character designer * Okama – costume designer * Shigeto Koyama – weapons and mechanics designer * Kris Zimmerman – voice-over director * Masafumi Takada – music composer Voice actors * Robin Atkin Downes – Travis Touchdown * Paula Tiso – Silvia Christel * Quinton Flynn – Henry * Kimberly Brooks – Shinobu * Josh Keaton – Destroyman Further reading * [http://www.gamespot.com/news/6198879.html TGS 2008: Some More Heroes Wii-bound next year] at GameSpot * [http://www.gamecyte.com/no-more-heroes-desperate-struggle-announced No More Heroes 2 Desperately Struggles To Interest Native Japanese — Sequel Slated for US and Europe in 2010] at GameCyte * [http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=256788 No More Heroes 2 to get two versions] at Eurogamer * [http://gonintendo.com/?p=59104#more-59104 Rising Star Games announces/confirms games for 2009/2010 launches] at GoNintendo * [http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=261513 Suda 51 Interview] at Eurogamer References External links * Official Japanese website * Official T-shirt design contest * Teaser trailer at YouTube * Second trailer at YouTube * Third trailer at IGN Category:No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle Category:Video games